GREG DAVIS’s musical interests have always been far-reaching, ranging from contemporary classical (he did graduate work in composition at New England Conservatory) to early electronics, minimalism, and folk. When he moved to Boston in ’99, Davis first made a name for himself in the local electronic-music scene and beyond for his sweet, melodic mix of guitar and computer processing. In recent years, however, he’s become one of the more masterful creators of luminous, long-form drones. Although often heavily processed, they tend to be created around organic instruments: acoustic guitar, harmonica, organ, bells, and the like.

So what does he have planned for tonight’s show at the Lily Pad? “Lately I’ve been exploring analog-synthesizer drone music for my live sets,” he writes from his home in Vermont. “But I think I’ve wrapped up my explorations with that for now. I’m hoping to do something more subtle and spacious and simple, incorporating acoustic instruments and computer processing/sounds for this tour. We’ll see what happens. I’m always open and flexible with my live sets, and they change from night to night. I like to improvise and go with the flow.”

For this concert, Davis’s scintillating drones will be paired with the delicately damaged avant-garde folk of Canadian singer-songwriter ERIC CHENAUX. The two are on a short tour of the Northeast set up by Davis, who’s a big fan of Chenaux’s music, which bears a distant familial resemblance to some of his own early song-based work. “I first heard Eric play some improvised music in Boston years ago, but I really got hooked on his album Dull Lights, which came out a couple years back on Constellation. It’s one of my favorite modern-songs records.”

Road shows “I’ve got $30 — which three CDs do you recommend?” The fan was at the corner of the stage at Johnny D’s talking to guitarist Dave Fiuczynski, who was on his knees hawking about half a dozen of his discs with different bands at 10 bucks a pop.

Next steps There’s a perverse, painful pleasure in recalling a particular New York Times Magazine essay by David Hajdu back in December 2000.

Year in Classical: Celebrate! In Handel's Hercules, the demented Dejanira's loss is still so painful, I was afraid to listen; now I don't want to hear anything else.

Stopping time BSO music director James Levine has returned to Symphony Hall for the first time since October, when back surgery put him out of commission.

Steampunk and Lima Beans The hook for Darcy James Argue's Secret Society — who come to the Regattabar Thursday the 25th — is that they're a "steampunk big band."

Does jazz have a melody problem? It seems lately that every other jazz musician I talk to under 40 wants to talk about melody — how it’s the thing they all care about.

Interview: John Hodgman Long before John Hodgman became universally recognized as the systems-challenged PC in Apple’s ads, he was writing fake trivia for such publications as McSweeney’s and the New York Times Magazine.

ASSAULT AND BATTERIES | February 20, 2009 After a brief stint in Pittsburgh, guitarist and electronic musician GEOFF MULLEN is back in his native Rhode Island, and the New England music scene is so much the better for it.

SO MUCH IN STORE | February 10, 2009 Australia's the NECKS are the sort of band who thwart classification.

A COMPROVISATIONAL WHAT? | February 02, 2009 Local saxophonist and electronic-musician JORRIT DIJKSTRA combines a variety of styles ranging from jazz to electro-acoustic improv and noise to create his own emotive and often idiosyncratic music.

WINTRY MIX | January 26, 2009 There are so many interesting and unusual musical happenings this week, it's almost more than this little column can bear.